20 October 2018

So Good They Named It Twice

New York, New York
Hello dear reader, I have recently returned from 4 fantastic days in New York. Together with my daughter, grandson and son-in-law we went to celebrate BIG birthdays. A couple of weeks ago I turned 70, yes I know, how the heck did that happen. And in a few weeks my daughter will be 50!!..oh my word, my baby will be 50.

We stayed in an apartment in a lovely old Brooklyn house.
Our apartment was at the top of the house. 
The owner lives on the other floors with her family, and her mother lives on the ground floor.

With three bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and lounge
it was well appointed and suited our needs.
Courtesy of Befunky.com
Bedroom 3 was tiny, just a bed and a small built in wardrobe,
but enough for my grandson to sleep in and hang his clothes on the floor!

We had discussed various ways of celebrating;
a party, weekend in London, dinner at the Shard.
I suggested New York as I had hoped to return after a visit 30 years ago. 
I wasn't sure if  it would be my family's choice but they said yes.
My darling daughter arranged the whole thing, overnight stay at the airport Premier Inn,
airport parking, flights, accommodation and itinerary.

It was about 11 am when we arrived at the apartment,
we had all managed to sleep on the flight so we decided to go out.

First stop was Macy's.
 My daughter wanted one of their small bags for her work lunch
I bought this Christmas tree decoration

Lunch was at Broadway Bites.
Rain was forecast and it started just after we finished lunch.
I was the only one with an umbrella, grandson's coat had a hood but my daughter and son-in-law only had coats so we dodged under scaffolding and shop awnings, into souvenir shops, and when it became torrential we had a coffee stop.

Afterwards we made our way to Times Square, passing the Naked Cowboy!

 And the M&M's shop......love the peanut ones

When I was last in New York 30 years ago you could just pitch up at Battery park and take the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. Nowadays you have to book in advance. When we booked our trip there were no available tours. I had already done the trip and climbed the steps up to the top so I wasn't bothered about doing it again. My family weren't bothered about not being able to visit. So we walked to Battery park and took some photos of the statue from there. I only had my phone camera and they aren't very good. 

Ground Zero was very poignant
Street entertainment
Brooklyn Bridge

My grandson loves basketball, and he's a very good player. He is a member of our town club. 
One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Madison Square Garden
to see a match between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets 

The camera floats around and selects people to appear on the big screen. 
It is a serious match but they do have entertainment - prize draws
hurling t-shirts into the eager audience
and a young man proposed to his sweetheart 💙 
The Nets won, I can't remember the score, but it was close.

My daughter read about a flea market in Brooklyn, we love anything like that.
We wondered about the origin of the term "flea market". It refers to the French marché aux puces,
the name given to a market in Paris which specialised in shabby second hand goods,
some of which might have contained fleas.

It was held in what I think used to be blocks of offices or factories.
There were 6 buildings, each one holding a variety of shops and eateries.
There were second hand stalls outside and a vintage fair indoors. We really wanted to visit the vintage fair, but with a $15 entry fee and a very long queue we decided that we didn't want to pay that much to look at items that would be silly prices.

This shop had some beautiful items, but again silly prices. 
A large opaque plastic bangle was priced at $198 !!

There were plenty of good eating places.

And some excellent entertainment


Ahh the New York Public Library
Such a beautiful building inside and out

How sweet is this, a real live beautiful cat in a shop window. I don't think he/she was for sale!

Now, the burning question on everyone's mind is "How do they get that crane down?"
Very carefully.

We cycled round Central Park

 
One of my grandson's favourite shops. I bought him this backpack.

Dumbo neighbourhood in Brooklyn. It stands for "Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass"


It's a lovely trendy area full of boutiques, restaurants and cafes. 
You can hop on the ferry over to Manhattan.

It also has this great outdoor park with facilities for basketball, roller skating, boating, handball,
picnic area, eats and drinks and lots more. 
Part of it has a roof and there are plans to put side walls in to make it an all year round venue.
That's my grandson - the flash of red on his arm, underneath the hoop.
People just turn up to practice on their own or make up teams to play games. 

And it offers picturesque views of the Manhattan skyline.
I like this dramatic effect photo that my grandson did in Snapseed for me. I now know how to use it.

We walked the pavements and rode the subways. Over the course of our 4 days we walked 37 miles.
My daughter used her fitbit, just out of curiousity.
I loved wandering around taking in the sights and absorbing the atmosphere.
I could have stayed another 4 days but sadly it was time to leave.  

I have a shed load of photos, it's difficult to know what to choose and when to stop!
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the tour 😊

~Be well ~
Polly x

17 comments:

  1. Sounds the perfect trip to celebrate your birthdays.

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  2. Oh that looks fab. I haven't been since before 9/11. A belated Happy Birthday!

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  3. Hello Polly, what a great post about New York. I have been only once, on a working press trip, and your super pictures brought memories flooding back, including, like you, a visit to watch the NY Knicks play basketball at Madison Square Garden. It was late at night and I was so tired with jet lag, I was literally falling asleep in my seat watching the game! I remember Ground Zero too - it was shortly after 9/11 when I went and it was very poignant seeing it. I think what I remember most clearly about NY is its energy - like invisible electricity crackling - I understand why it's called the city that never sleeps. A belated happy birthday!

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    1. Hello Jacqui. You're right about the invisible electricity. On my first visit I stood on the streets (which over 30 years ago were dodgy) and felt really alive!

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  4. That was a very fun filled trip.. we went to New York in 2011 with my then 2 1/2 year old baby..

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  5. Belated Birthday wishes. Looks like an amazing trip. I enjoyed coming along with you, bringing back some lovely memories of my own trip there.

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  6. Wowww Polly New york ....What a Great trip !!....beautiful pictures....have a Nice sunday...love Ria 💕

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  7. OMG. Polly. Those photos made me miss living in NYC more and more. My heart will always be in Manhattan and the Boroughs! Looks like you made the most out of those days and had THE best time. That apartment in Brooklyn was an amazing find and it's so much better to stay in a home rather than a hotel!
    My biggest surprise was the fact you just cannot hop on a ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. I'm shocked that you need to book in advance! When the kids were younger we would go to Liberty Island for a picnic lunch and now.....??
    I've yet to go to the 9/11 memorial because it's still too close for comfort for me--I worked in the WTC and can't bring myself to go there. The photo your grandson took should be entered in a contest. It's gorgeous! So happy you were back in NYC!!!!

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    1. Hi Catherine. I was surprised when we couldn't book The Statue of Liberty, I suppose it's all to do with security now. I'm so glad I got to visit again.

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  8. What a wonderful birthday treat! Happy birthday to you!
    I would love to go back to NYC. So full of life and energy. I also loved the Library.
    The effect on that photo is great, very dramatic.

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    1. Thank you Liz. My grandson is very clever with photos.

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  9. gah, I want to be in NYC!!! lovely photos and I''m so glad you had a fun time. Happy birthday!!!

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